"Not alive or dead," Chris replied.
"Then the blood was donated or given to you freely," the priest said.
"It is still human blood," Chris argued.
The priest leaned forward. Chris could see his concerned eyes. "Did you steal it?"
"No," Chris said flatly.
The priest smiled. "Then I fail to see why you are confessing."
"I…I…I…I am a sinner," Chris stammered.
"Have you used the Lord's name in vain?"
"No."
"Have you worshipped false gods?"
"No!"
"Then why are you here?"
"Absolution!" Chris said emphatically.
"How can I absolve you of sins that you haven't committed, my son?"
Tears streamed down Chris' cheeks. "I am a man of the cloth."
"You were a man of the cloth, my son. You are now a warrior…"
"DON'T YOU SEE WHY I AM HERE?"
"Honestly, no I do not."
"Do you want to walk with God?"
The priest chuckled. "No offense, my son, but isn't that why we all take up the calling? We spread God's word and love to others so that one day we will walk with him. Yes, I want to walk with our Lord."
"Now, how do you think that I feel? I have been waiting five hundred years to be called home knowing that when I die, that I still will not walk with the Lord," Chris said through tears.
The priest replied softly, "My son, maybe you have to look at the calling he has set forth for you. Instead of wondering what is in it for you, maybe you should be wondering what is in it for him."
Chris wept softly.
* * *
David furiously tapped away at his keyboard. He had four remote chats and a video chat running simultaneously. He was regretting being the technologically savvy member of the group. His mind and his dexterity were on overload. He had been ordered, despite Larry insisting that he was requesting the search, to find Chris because the vampire hunter was not carrying his cell phone and he had not given any indication of where he was going. Larry had surmised that he had battled the vampires at the museum but his whereabouts were still a mystery.
David had logged onto the encrypted internet service of the Council of the Light. The internet service signal was routed and re-routed constantly through internet service providers from around the world. He was on a video conference with three local leaders of the council while instant messaging several others from the area and from around the world. They all gave reports of council findings from Halifax and its surrounding areas to see if any of the modus operandi matched that of their vampire hunter. David thought all was lost until he read a report of vampire corpse being found with an intravenous line in its arm. He would have ignored it until vials of holy water were found at the scene and several council warriors reported speaking to Chris prior to the battle at the museum.
New reports had been logged into the council archives. David saved the reports to his encrypted USB drive. He noted each conversation for the council as he closed the instant messaging programs and he saved all of the video files. He was in the process of cataloguing each file for the archives when a new email entered his inbox. He had sent out a general request for any knowledge of a vampire hunter in the city. He had described Chris for those council members who had never met their famed vampire hunter. He was about to open it when Larry opened the back of the van.
"Any luck?" he asked as he breathily climbed into the back of the van.
"From what I have learned, he is still in the city. However, he is very well-hidden," David said.
"Go on," Larry urged as he closed the door and began checking their vampire hunting supplies.
"Chris, from my experience, is very straight-forward. He is moody and often a complete prick, but he is an exceptional warrior. However, the closest report of seeing him puts him in an area where a vampire corpse was found."
Larry chuckled. "Isn't that his job?"
David watched his friend checking their supplies which he knew never led to a pleasant evening. "Have you ever known him to torture vampires before killing them?"
Larry paused. A lone stake slipped from his grasp and fell into the open backpack. He stared straight ahead. Slowly, his gaze fell on the face of his former student as he realized what David had just told him.
"He tortured a vampire? Are you certain?"
"Certain? No. But from what I have read and the circumstantial evidence surrounding the corpse and the warriors who had spoken to him, it would probably convict him in a court of law," David answered.
"Details?"
"A vampire corpse, mostly burned, was found with an intravenous line in its arm. I would have only believed that it was a group of rogue warriors until the vials of holy water were found nearby. Water and blood were found in the line. Apparently, he fed the vampire and then put water in the line to kill him," David said.
"Disturbing," Larry said as the van started.
"Yes," David said as he looked around, "Uh, where are we going?"
"Hopefully to find an end to our problems or…" His voice trailed off.
"Or what?" David pressed.
"Or it could be the start of something worse."
"What could be worse?" David inquired.
"If Chris is losing control, then he could be just as dangerous, if not more so, than our vampire queen."
Both men sat in silence as the van pulled away from the curb. David wanted to ask more questions, but he didn't want to offend his mentor. Larry remained lost in thought. He passed the backpack to David and nodded. He knew that it was his cue to resume inventorying their supplies while Larry contemplated the information that had been just relayed to him.
Several minutes passed and the silence continued. David checked the backpack. A cross, three stakes and three vials of holy water, the standard field supplies of a council warrior, were stored in the backpack. David shook his head. They had battled the vampire queen in the past and he knew that the holy water was probably useless against her. The cross was also useless as he knew that she didn't fear any holy symbols. Three stakes meant that they had to be precise. Precision against an incredibly powerful vampire meant disaster. Their vampire hunter was missing in action which meant that they would have to battle her on their own. David knew that they were going to die.
"What a great fucking time for that moody asshole to flake off," David growled as he tossed the backpack onto the van floor.
"This isn't the time, David," Larry scolded. "We need to focus."
"On what? Dying?" he asked sarcastically. "You know that if she is wherever we are headed that we are going to die. We can't beat her."
"We have to," Larry said.
"You're kidding me, right?"
"No, I am not kidding."
"Oh bullshit, Larry! You know as well as I do that we can't win this battle without an insane amount of luck! Chris couldn't beat her and now you expect us to defeat her in battle? The last time that I checked, neither one of us are immortal. In fact, I think that we are rapidly aging."
"We have an advantage," Larry said.
David paused. "We have a unit of warriors waiting to meet up with us?" he asked hopefully.
"No," Larry admitted softly.
"Do you care to change your answer?"
"I'd like to, but I am not going to lie to you. It is the officer who was assigned to drive this van, Kent, you and I. Our supplies are limited to what is in the bag."
"WE HAVE THREE FREAKIN' STAKES!" David yelled.
"I know."
"Count me out," David said with a wave of his hand.
"What did you say?" Larry asked as the van began to slow.
"I said count me out. You might want to die, but I don't."
The van stopped. It rocked briefly as the driver placed the transmission in park. The two men stared at each other. David's eyes were cold and heartless. Larry looked away and he shook his head. He grabbed the backpack from the floor and stood. He g
lanced at David before he waited for the door to open. He hopped out of the back of the van and broke into a full sprint. The two police officers led the way. David sighed.
Kent had called the hotel during their brief trip from the museum. He argued with several different people over having probable cause. They argued that the police would need a search warrant because they valued the privacy of their clients. However, Kent explained that under Canadian law that if he believed that there was an immediate threat to life and property that they did not need a search warrant. He also told the manager that they needed to search one specific room. The manager, while still reluctant, agreed. Kent had advised him to meet them in the parking lot with a key to the room after he had evacuated the remaining rooms. After hearing Kent's warning, he was less concerned with the warrant as he was with saving his business.
The manager, an older man whose hair was thinning, waved to them. Kent ran directly to him. The manager extended his hand and Kent grabbed the door key card from his hand. Neither man spoke. As soon as Kent had the card in his hand, the manager ran as fast as he could for his car. Moments later, the three men reached the room to which Mikhaeli had left directions. Kent slid the card in the door and the light switched to green.
"Do you really think that she would wait two days to leave?" the young officer, named Ron, asked softly.
"No," Larry whispered as Kent slowly turned the door handle, "But with the city locked down and the airport being closed, she might have been stuck here. However, she doesn't shy away from a fight either."
"That's what scares me," Kent mumbled as he drew his pistol and eased the door open.
The luxurious room was in pristine condition. Several shopping bags were lined up like dutiful soldiers awaiting their next orders. The room was quiet except for the sound of soft music coming from the bathroom. Kent holstered his weapon and reached behind him as Larry handed him a stake. Larry handed a stake to Ron and he removed the last one from the backpack. Knowing that holy water would be completely ineffective against the vampire queen, he eased the backpack into the doorway. He let Ron pass him slowly before he slid into the room. He slowly closed the door on the backpack to prevent the latch from clicking and alerting anyone to their presence. He nodded to the two police officers and they continued into the room.
Kent motioned with his fingers for Ron to approach the bathroom door. The young officer of Asian descent cautiously approached the door. His walked slowly and softly. The soft music grew louder as he reached the door. He could hear water running. He heard some groaning. He reached for the door handle and turned it.
The door flew from his grasp. A naked, male vampire, covered in foul-smelling blood soaked potting soil, leapt at him. Ron raised his stake to defend himself but the vampire's blood rage overpowered him. Viciously, the vampire sunk his fangs into him and ripped out his throat. Ron tried to scream but his blood followed into his attacker's mouth. As the vampire drained him, his life slowly slipped away.
Kent lowered his left shoulder and he threw himself at the vampire. His shoulder hit his ribcage and the vampire released his grip on his prey. Blood and escaping breath sprayed in the air. Ron grabbed his throat and fell backwards. Blood sprayed between his fingers. Larry watched the dying man fall. He wanted to help him but he knew that if he didn't help Kent that they too would join the fallen. Ron's eyes pleaded for help but Larry turned away and charged the vampire.
Kent rapidly threw punches into the body of the undead minion. He lifted a knee into his mid-section and followed his attack by slamming both fists into the back of his head. The vampire fell to his knees. Kent quickly followed with a kick to his ribs, but the vampire caught his leg.
"BLOOD!" he screamed before plunging his fangs into Kent's knee.
He thrashed his head. Kent screamed as the vampire ripped his kneecap from his body. Blood poured from his leg. He kicked the vampire repeatedly in the head with his good leg, but the vampire ignored the pain. Fortunately, the vampire hadn't noticed or cared about the third man in the room. Larry slammed his stake into his back and he wailed.
"BLOOD!" he screamed as he stood.
Larry kicked him in the face, but the vampire, who was growing more powerful as he fed, shook off the attack. Kent wailed as he tried to prevent the rapidly increasing flow of blood from escaping from the gaping wound in his leg. Larry ignored the protests of his fellow warrior. The vampire had focused on him. The vampire reached for the stake in his back. Slowly he pulled it out. He licked his blood from the stake and smiled. He whirled and plunged the stake into Kent's right eye.
"NO!" Kent protested just before the sharpened wood plunged into his brain.
"I'll save that one for dessert," the youthful looking vampire hissed as he turned his attention back to Larry.
He reached for his cross, but it was still in his backpack. He slowly backed up and he tripped over one of the large plush chairs. He stumbled and fell. The vampire chuckled before he leapt. Seconds later, he had Larry pinned in the chair. Blood and saliva dripped from his mouth. Bloody spittle splashed on Larry's frightened face. The vampire inhaled the scent of his frightened blood. Larry trembled and the vampire growled.
"Your fear is intoxicating," he said as he began to press his soiled naked body into Larry's trembling frame.
Larry tried to scream but the vampire pressed his hand over his mouth.
"Shhhhh," the vampire urged, "Don't ruin it."
He threw his head back. He pushed his prey's head backwards. Larry swallowed hard. His throat pulsed. The vampire hissed. He began gyrating. He pushed his naked and aroused body into Larry. His fear grew with each gyration. The vampire laughed. He threw his head back and screamed. He fell forward.
He began to convulse and scream. Larry took the opportunity and pushed him away. Fear filled his wide eyes. The vampire began to shrivel and decompose rapidly. Green lines traced his body. Larry saw the stake jabbed into his back. Green blood and decaying flesh bubbled from the wound. He slowly turned his head and David glared at him.
"I almost didn't help," David joked. "He seemed to like you."
"A little too much," Larry replied as he shivered. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," David said as he watched the vampire shrivel away.
"Where did you get one of his stakes?" Larry asked of the Mongolian oak stake which David carefully removed from the body.
"He gave me one for situations like this. I've practiced hitting the heart on dummies. He told me that I didn't need to be accurate with it, but accuracy was encouraged. This stake was for those times when I didn't have time for accuracy."
"Understood," Larry said he handed David a cloth from his pocket. "Here clean that off of there and then let's get out of here."
"What about…"
"If we are here and the police show up and there is no body, how do we explain two dead cops?"
"You don't," a voice said from behind them.
They both slowly turned with their hands raised.
"However, I know why you are here," the police detective said. "Kent called me from the van on your way here."
"And you are?" Larry asked as he slowly lowered his hands.
"Detective Bernard Cherry," the muscular man of African descent said. "Kent is a friend and fellow council member."
"Was," David corrected as he also lowered his hands.
Bernard spied the bodies of both officers. The stake still protruded from Kent's eye. His other eye said fear.
"Yes," Bernard said softly, "He was."
He wiped away a tear.
"However, there is another council member outside. They will take you where you need to go."
"How do you know where we need to go?"
"Does the name Bloodheart mean anything to you?" Bernard asked.
Both men didn't wait for any further explanation. They dashed out the door.
* * *
Mikhaeli relished in her personal glory. The satisfaction of outsmarting the humans made her gl
ass of blood wine that much more enjoyable. Their sense of superiority because they were members of a holy calling, despite being intellectually inferior to an immortal, had made her recent success that much more pleasurable. As she took another sip from her golden chalice, the mixture of rare berries and fresh human blood sent shivers of pleasure down her spine. She smiled. Yes, she thought, I am that damn good.
She had purposely left a note for the morons in the council to follow her to her temporary hideout. She knew that her plan had worked perfectly. She had left Evan to be found by the police. He had awakened just in time to cause chaos on the plane. His presence had taken the council's attention away from her location. She had caused even more distractions by torturing and killing the medical examiners. She had truly enjoyed that one, but planting the explosives was her greatest achievement.
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